The speech in Saudi Arabia just delivered by U.S. President Donald Trump may very well serve as the litmus test to all those who claim to be seeking an end to religious extremism, global terrorism, the rising Islamic caliphate, and the Holy war of Jihad bearing down on ALL of us.

I say litmus test because, to be expected, we have, on one hand, Trump lovers excessively praising his speech; while on the other, Trump haters excessively hating it. And neither side adequately warranting their positions. It’s all, well, just… because.

If only Trump’s speech was first published in print, anonymously. Only then could either side stand a chance of an unbiased opinion. Instead, lovers and haters alike are just doing their thing, without spelling out why. But on the scoreboard, ironically and of no surprise, we find that the hate’s got the numbers. No help whatsoever.

So, biased opinions aside, exactly what is wrong with Trump’s speech?

(…)

That blank line above is intentional. It contains the argument any sensible, intelligent, free-thinking person would mount against Trump’s speech. That’s right — Nothing.

I make that assertion not withstanding the fact there’s considerable outrage over what Trump did — and didn’t — say. Not for any valid reason, mind you. But when has outrage ever needed that?

I urge you to take the time to listen to this speech. (See the link below.) Be open, be critical. But listen. Then have a look at the vitriol being spewed, and see if you can reconcile the two. You have to be able to recognize an ally. At the oddest of times they come from the most unexpected places.

Some are saying Trump was “too soft.”

Seriously? What do people want to hear? Death to ALL Muslims? War on ALL Muslim majority countries? Should Trump have walked in slinging insults to the host nation, and a room full of Muslims? If he had, those same haters would hate on him for that. As would I.

Unless I misheard, although Trump could have said more (can’t we all), he said exactly what needed to be said: Something has to be done to solve the problem that we all know is amplifying and spreading. And whatever that something is, it must be specifically engineered, en masse, with unified cooperation, to target those at the root cause of the problem — Not simply blanket everyone merely by association.

Yet, disappointingly, even Bill Warner is saying

“Trump has gone soft on Islam.”

For fuck’s sake, Bill.

And some are saying Trump was

“Too PC. Too politically correct.”

For fuck’s sake, Avi. To both of you, any of you, all of you, I gotta say you would not know subtlety if it hit you in the face.

Regardless of what I think of either Trump or Islam, the most prescient problem resides deep in the tormented hearts and perverse minds of those who not only will never alter their violent, ideological views, but will forever hate and wish to see put to death all those, meaning the you and me types (non Muslims), who don’t agree with them.

Sure, we’ll see what happens with Trump; but on the surface, he has put it out there, and done so in one of the most Muslim-dominated countries on the planet. And the way he did so was essentially to point out the blatantly obvious. He may have intentionally not called out some of the leaders in that room, but he certainly knew that those same people are exactly who he was both talking about and to. And those fuckers knew it, as well.

Like you, I have heard some of the most inane drivel fall from Trump’s mouth. Embarrassingly so. I have rarely seen more bombastic arrogance; more idiocy combined. But not here, comrades. Here you have an exceptionally sensible, rhetoric-free speech. No, not a typo.

But to be fair, I call on anyone to pick fault, by example — BY EXAMPLE — with what Trump said; and how he said it.

In what should be hailed as an historic speech,Trump called the assembly to order:

Look closely at the squirms around that room. Some Muslim leaders, clearly wishing they weren’t there, certainly were not expecting this. Especially not on Arabic soil. If we could collate their thoughts, I reckon the shared, dominant one would be:

“Is he really saying this? Here? To us? Well, we’re fucked now!“

In many ways, Trump is talking directly to the leaders whose beliefs and policies are directly responsible for the atrocities he’s calling out. Yet, by not naming names (bar Iran), he’s able to deliver his message not only with the full brunt of awkward truthfulness, but without apology or reservation. Now that is clever.

Find me another leader who has even remotely approached the gravity and accuracy and fearlessness and directness of Trump as seen in this speech. I’ll wait. Just one.

What do you usually always get from politicians? Rhetoric. Empty promises. Sales pitching. Self aggrandising — Nauseating and infuriating, is it not?

But here… Here there is not one trace of politic-talk in Trump’s speech. Yet this is from a man whose detractors are calling him out because he didn’t use the phrase “Radical Islam.” I guess, though, when you’re biased, you can listen out for just one thing… at the exclusion of all else. Convenient, hey.

You can still hate Trump. But be careful. When you strip back what he said, he’s saying what you need to hear. What we all need to hear. What we’re asking to hear.

I don’t mean this as a criticism, but just as a point: The only thing Trump didn’t say, which didn’t need to be said because of the onslaught of inherent implication, was “Do this or else.”

But if you listen carefully, it’s clearly implied.

Trump has laid down the ground rules. He’s spelled out the problem. And the solution. He has said exactly what every leader there is now to be held accountable for. In effect, he has put all of them, in one fell swoop, on notice.

Not once did we get this from Obama. And we certainly weren’t going to get it from (Hilary) Clinton. We aren’t even in cooee of getting it from Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

For all that comprises Trump’s abrasiveness, I have not the consciousness necessary to rail against him on a speech that, if acted upon, will change the world for the better.

Just think about:

If Trump achieves what he’s putting out there for, what would we have?

We’d have everything necessary to put an end to the global Jihad. The rise of the caliphate would again be put to an end. Islamists — Jihadists — would have nowhere to run and hide; no source of funding; no place for asylum; and be in such minority numbers that their power and their threat would be virtually non existent. The threat of Sharia would die, along with all hope for the Islamic State.

So, please tell me, comrades, in place of that, what would you prefer?